Anhui Farmers' Cooperative is an organization for farmers' rights, and has undertaken several community development projects. To read more about the organization, click here. -- We recently held our first reading class of 2012, designed for children in the community to develop an interest in reading and to practice their reading skills. We initially planned to accommodate 20 to 30 students, but only 10 ended up making the class. I was particularly touched during the introductory activity, when the children were asked to draw a picture of their mothers and share one thing they did with them. Then, we gave the children a book to read, and discussed what the main character in the story did with her family. This prompted the kids to ask questions and compare their activities at home with the ones they read in the book. Although this was a simple exercise, it piqued the children's interest for the rest of the session. Without a captivating beginning, it is easy for the children to quickly lose interest! Overall, most of the students had a wonderful time. Thank you! We will continue to work hard in the future.
-- Original Story by Yang YunBiao; translated by Shishi Ma; edited by Emily Cheng People with leprosy are sent to isolated places without families or friends to support them emotionally of physically. They are abandoned and forgotten by society. The Shalom Leprosy Compassion Ministry has a heart for these people and organizes groups of volunteers to travel to leprosy villages and provide medical, living, and psychological assistance. -- A few days ago, Lao Yang gave us a phone call. He repeatedly asked us to help him take a few pictures. It was a small request, and he should not have needed me to come down from Kunming about 50 km away. Anyone could have helped take a picture - why did he ask us? After we reached Lao Yang’s house, we discovered that he wanted to apply for a disability certificate which required a photo of half of his body. Embarrassed about his disease, he was afraid that he might be looked down upon if he asked anyone else for a favor, so he resorted to calling on us for assistance. While we were taking the pictures for Lao Yang, we could clearly see his deformed remnant of a body and I could not help but feel ashamed. Although leprosy can be controlled and be cured, many people still avoid the disease like the plague. Old Lao Yang says he still feels inferior to other people. The fact that he has been forced to live deep in the mountains away from his village does not help his self-confidence. Poverty, disease, and physical pain -- common struggles for leprosy patients -- can be overcome. But, the difficulties with loneliness and helplessness are more difficult to handle. Perhaps, what people with leprosy need aren't just towels, medicine, or food; just as importantly, they need our love, company, and open hearts. -- Original story was written by the founder of the Shalom Leprosy Compassion Ministry, Ping Liang. It was translated by TFish staff Shishi Ma, and edited by U.S. intern Isabel Auyeung. Ms. Zhou provides mental and psychological counseling for woman in rural areas. In this update, she reflects on how a burdensome lecture she needed to give eventually became an unexpected blessing. Learn more about Ms. Zhou and her work here! -- Although I was already overwhelmed with preparing for upcoming lectures in Nanchang City, I agreed anyway to visit the QianXi Teachers’ Education Institute and give a talk highlighting the importance of mental health issues and interpersonal communication skills. This was my first time training people who were teachers of other local teachers. A total of 50 people came out for the talk, which lasted two hours. It was an intimidating two hours - 50 pairs of eyes were glued on me from beginning to end, and I didn't get a single moment of rest. After the class concluded, many of the teachers offered encouraging feedback. They included: “This lecture will be a milestone for QianXi education. It is of great significance and of great impact to our education methodology!" "This is just the information that we wanted - the details, truths, principles, and individual stories. It quenched our thirst!" "Your expertise in this area will bring you jobs, reward you with a happy life, and make you into a role model for all the teachers of this county." The following is a translation of the Chengdu Volunteer's Association's Valentine's Day fundraiser on February 14, 2012. This organization provides food, clothing, and study materials for children in need in the remote areas of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Learn more about their work here! -- At 7pm on February 14, 2012, fifty to sixty enthusiastic volunteers from the Chengdu Volunteer Association gathered in Renmin Park to start the rose-selling fundraiser for Dengze, who has leukemia, and Haiyan, who has kidney failure. The volunteers discussed their strategies with each other and then later went out in small groups to shopping centers to start selling the roses. One volunteer, who was an exceptionally good speaker, always managed to sell her roses. Other volunteers tried different methods; for instance, one would hold the roses, while another would carry around a letter of thanks written by Dengze and Haiyan. Together, they would sell the roses to couples sitting on benches and read to them the letter. For the most part, people were kind. Although some weren't interested in buying the flowers, there were plenty of others who eagerly donated upon hearing that the proceeds would go to charity. Some people even gave the flowers back after they bought them to let the volunteers sell them again! In less than 2 hours, most flowers were sold out, and an impressive sum of six thousand yuan (~$950) had been raised. Little Red Scarf CARE manages poverty relief programs in Gansu province in rural China. This is a story about a boy who is supported by the LRS CARE team, the incredible hardships of his family, and the even more amazing hope that they maintain through this difficult time. To learn more about and support LRS CARE, go here.
-- Yuan Chang is a 10 year old little boy. Doctors discovered that he had congenital heart disease 6 days after he was born. As he grew up, Yuan Chang had to be hospitalized often, causing his family much concern. He also has a sister who suffers from epilepsy. Their parents took her to hospitals several times in Lanzhou (the capital of Gansu), but each treatment was ineffective, and she continued to suffer from seizures. The illnesses of these two children brought overwhelming hardship upon the family. When things could not seem to get worse, something unimaginable happened in 2008. One day, Yuan Chang's family received news that the father had gotten in a quarrel with another man at work and was killed in the brawl. This, obviously, was devastating for everyone in the family. Although the children were very young, they understood the significance of having lost their father. It has been three years since, but every time their father’s death is spoken of, the mother sheds tears again. The following article is written by a representative from Light of Love, a student organization that strives to improve the quality of life in rural China. For more information about this group, please visit here. The article below describes a process of brainstorm and revision to create “student aid” programs in rural China.
-- In recent years, grassroots NGOs have been developing rapidly, claiming their irreplaceable role in civil society. Their activities benefit all types of people in different places in China, generally improving our society. They have even started a frenzy of college students participating in public service. The students use their winter or summer holidays to engage in volunteering, most of which are teaching activities. Such work contributes to the integration of resources between urban and rural areas, and also benefit the NGOs. Of course, theses teaching programs still struggle with some shortcomings, but many of the more mature teams have taken into account these deficiencies and are working hard to improve their services. These organizations include Beijing Western Sunshine Rural Development Foundation, Chunhui Youth Community Development Center, Guangzhou Lighthouse program, China teaching service, Love Ants, etc. Likewise, the community of Light of Love has made appropriate changes to its education services, adding more activities in hopes of making our own mark in educational progresses in our country. We believe that with everyone’s hard work, there will be better programs to replace the defective ones. In order to ensure financial transparency, the TFish partnership includes three stages of collaboration: TFish Friend, TFish Associate Member, and TFish Strategic Partner. The exciting news below, provided by our executive director Nancy Nguyen, concerns four NGOs that were recently upgraded to become TFish Strategic Partners.
-- Exciting news! Four of our partner organizations have qualified to become Transparent Fish Strategic Partners. They are the following: Zhou Yong Hong Counseling Center: http://www.toumingyu.org/group.php?group_id=381 AnHui Farmers’ Cooperative: http://www.toumingyu.org/community/440/ Grass-Roots Experts: http://www.toumingyu.org/community/277/ Light of Love: http://www.toumingyu.org/group.php?group_id=320 On behalf of Transparent Fish, I express my sincere gratitude towards their cooperation and support. We are very pleased by our common vision and aspiration to serve those in need. Let us work together and do our best! We all know that there are many excellent NGOs on this platform, as there are many interesting projects and touching stories. We look forward to receiving more updates from our new Strategic Partners and continuing to promote them. Nancy Nguyen TFish Executive Director -- Original news article translated by TFish staff Shishi Ma, edited by intern Kaitlyn Cheung. Another volunteer, Zhang Xin, works with Xiao Zinxin. Chengdu Volunteer Association is dedicated to helping patients suffering from various disorders. The following is a reflection of a volunteer worker following her visit to a girl suffering from cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive, non-infectious motor condition that can lead to physical disabilities in development, particularly in areas of body movement. -- I came to Xiao Zixin’s home for the first time on February 11th. I’ve never been in contact with children with cerebral palsy before, but I knew that Xiao Zixin’s situation could not be too good. Along with the surgery, her father had just passed away the previous year, leaving her, her mother, and her sister in the house alone. When I got there, I immediately felt a warm, pleasant home atmosphere, void of any depressive emotions. Xiao Zixin's family made us feel comfortable, and conversations flowed naturally. The cheerful and optimistic mother "Auntie Shaw" was the mainstay of the home, and believed that only knowledge and education could change the fate of her family. Zixin could not attend school for the past semester because of her surgery, but she tried her hardest to catch up nonetheless. During her tutoring sessions, she listened intently and studied for more than two hours without rest. I was touched by her motivation and perseverance; on the first day of learning English, she hadn’t known all 26 letters. But, by morning of the next, she had learned them all, in addition to completing some math problems. Zixin’s operation was done very successfully. Auntie Shaw explained that if she is kept healthy, her post-surgery life will not be negatively impacted by the operation. I will continue to help this optimistic family, and I hope that more people will join me in the effort. I can hope, because Xiao Zinxin and her family will always maintain their hope. -- The original article, written by volunteer Luan, was translated by TFish staff Shishi Ma and edited by U.S. intern Ally Nguyen. D-Starine (海豚星空号) is an NGO that, among leading other service projects dealing with disaster relief and community reconstruction, purchases pedigreed shepherding dogs to send to Tibetan herdsmen to increase pasturing efficiency. Learn more about D-Starine. -- This blog entry concerns the good deeds of a recruiting firm. The boss of the company encouraged all the employees to buy teddy bears to raise money for village children. Then they gave all the teddy bears to the D-Starine team, which brought them to the Tibetan children. Because of the busy traffic during Spring Festival, half of the bears were unable to catch the Sichuan-Tibet expedition team, so they will have to wait until summer. But, the bears carried by the YuShu expedition team fortunately arrived on time. These bears followed the expedition team visiting eight locations such as Guoqing Village, Xiwu Town, Lueduo Village, Bula Town, Jishi Town, Tongtianhe, Ganda village, etc. They gave the teddy bears not only to the children but also to the sick elders to bring them some warmth in the winter. Please see the pictures below. Anhui Farmers' Cooperative is an organization for farmers' rights, and has undertaken several community development projects. To read more about the Anhui Farmers' Cooperative, click here. -- On the morning of New Year’s Day, the Cooperative’s venues slowly brought together many local villagers. It is always this exciting every New Year’s Day, and this year was no exception. With the voice of the host announcing the start of activities, the crackling sound of the firecrackers ushered in the New Year. Immediately the activities began. The first activity was ZaShaBao ("toss the sandbags"). Each person has three sandbags, and, on their turn, stands outside a line 6 meters away from the bottles and tries to hit the bottles using the sandbags. Each successful hit is rewarded with a lollipop. Due to the simplicity of this game, people of all ages participated, and almost everyone won a lollipop.
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